John Alfred Paulson, president of Paulson & Co., Inc, listens during the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee November 13, 2008 in Washington, DC.

But at least one major shareholder had already taken some of its chips off te table, according to people familiar with its position: Paulson & Co., the $38 billion hedge-fund behemoth.

During the course of the past two months, Paulson sold a substantial portion of its 124 million-share stake in BofA , according to these people. In light of yesterday’s news, firm founder John Paulson may now, in fact, be regretting his decision, these people say, and looking to upsize his holdings in the bank yet again.

The apparent selldown is significant because of Paulson’s outsized influence both in the hedge-fund world and at BofA, where he is the eighth-largest shareholder of record, according to first-quarter securities filings. »Read More